A sprinkling of sucrose—good old granulated table sugar. Photo by Stuart Whitmore | SXC.

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November 2006
Updated January 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Honeys, Sugars & Syrups

How Sweet It Is: A Glossary Of Sugar & Syrup Types

Page 2: Cane Sugar & Other Terms With C

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Cane Juice or Evaporated Cane Juice or Unrefined Dehydrated Cane Juice: An organic product, evaporated cane juice is sugar that does not go through the final stages of purification and whitening by chemicals. Evaporated cane juice is not liquid, but crystal form. It is 85% to 95% sucrose, compared to 99% to 100% for regular sugar. The cane is crushed, producing cane juice, which is clarified and concentrated through heating and evaporation; the raw sugar crystals are separated from the remaining syrup (molasses) by centrifuge. The result is a minimally processed, full-flavored sweetener that can be substituted for white sugar (a.k.a. granulated sugar, regular sugar, table sugar and sucrose), used by people who do not want chemicals in their food. With regular sugar, chemicals would then be used used to remove impurities, and whiten the product.

Cane Sugar: Sugar derived from sugar cane. Both beet and cane sugars are 99.95% sucrose; the remaining .05% are trace minerals and proteins. Many bakers claim that this tiny fraction makes a difference, and that cane sugar performs better. In may be true: molasses made from beet sugar is considered too bitter for human consumption and is used for animal feed. See sugar cane.

Photo of cane sugar by Sanja G Jenero | SXC.

Caster Sugar or Castor Sugar: The British term for what Americans call superfine or ultrafine sugar.

Chinese Sugar or Chinese Rock Sugar:  See rock sugar.

Chocolate Syrup: A syrup made from unsweetened cocoa powder, corn syrup and flavorings. It is used to flavor milk, as a sundae topping, and in a broad variety of food preparation and garnishing applications.

Cinnamon Sugar: A mixture of granulated sugar and powdered cinnamon, popular on buttered toast and puddings. It is sold as a commercial mixture, or can be easily made using 1 part cinnamon to 7 parts sugar.

Coarse Sugar or Decorating Sugar: Granulated sugar that processed very coarsely for baking with a larger grain size than regular granulated sugar; it tends not to change color or break down at high temperatures. It can be colored and is similar to sanding sugar, but is a larger grain than sanding sugar. It is used as decoration to give a jewel-like appearance. Also called crystal sugar and crystallized sugar.

Coconut Sugar: A brownish sugar made from the sap of the coconut palm, coconut sugar has a creamy, caramel-like sweetness used primarily for making sweets and desserts, but is also used in curries and in rich sauces for savory dishes. Because it is not highly processed like regular brown sugar, the color, consistency, flavor and level of sweetness can vary from batch to batch, even within the same brand, such that cooks need to add it “to taste.” Palm sugar is often used as an interchangeable term, and it can be substituted for coconut sugar; although palm sugar is made from the sap of the palmyra or sugar palm. Brown sugar can be substituted for either; but for sweetening light-colored dishes, plain granulated sugar should be used. See also palm sugar.
Palm sugar available from iGourmet.

Coconut Syrup: This syrup can be found in Hawaii, where it’s popular as a pancake syrup and as a sweetener in mixed drinks.

Confectioner’s Sugar or Powdered Sugar: Granulated sugar that has been crushed to a fine powder with 3% cornstarch added to prevent lumping. It dissolves readily and is also used decoratively, as a fine dusting on desserts. Sugar labeled XXXX is slightly finer than that labeled XXX, but they can be used interchangeably. One and three-quarters (packed) cups confectioner’s sugar equals 1 cup granulated sugar. Known as icing sugar in Great Britain (because it is often used in icings) and sucre glace in France.

Photo of confectioner’s sugar by
Lynn Cummings | SXC.

Corn Syrup: Ubiquitous in the U.S. and not elsewhere, this thick, sweet syrup is known as glucose syrup outside the U.S. and Canada because it is composed mainly of glucose, corn syrup is made from corn starch. It is used to sweeten soft drinks, ice cream, ketchup, breads and many other mass-produced foods. It is made in light and dark corn syrup: the light is almost clear, with a delicate flavor; dark corn syrup has a more pronounced, molasses-like flavor; but they can be used interchangeably in recipes. While some food purists decry the use of corn syrup in recipes, even good manufacturers use it because corn syrup doesn’t crystallize and turn grainy in cold temperatures, so it keeps a good consistency for fudge and caramel sauces and and candies. In mass production, baked goods made with corn syrup are moister and stay fresher longer than those made with sugar. See also High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Crystallized Sugar or Crystal Sugar or Sugar Crystals: See coarse sugar.  Rock candy is essentially large sugar crystals.

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